Hardcopy prints typically provide ancillary data to supply additional information for an area of interest and can enhance the analysis of key data in the print. Postcards, for example, provide a unique form of ancillary data. On the back of a postcard image, ancillary data information such as stamps, user notes, dates, addresses, and other types of annotation can be found. This data typically provides additional information to a reader of the postcard. The ancillary data can be in a variety of formats, such as audio, video and the like.
Dual sided scanners can be used to simultaneously scan the image and non-image sides of the hardcopy print. When both sides of a hardcopy print are scanned, the scanner provides two image files that represent the image and non-image or ancillary sides of the hardcopy print. Nevertheless, given two image files that represent the scanned hardcopy print, the front and back sides need to be automatically identified. Once the front and back images of the hardcopy print have been identified, the back image (i.e., ancillary image) can then be highly compressed and used for applications such as embedding the back image as ancillary data into the front image. This can be accomplished using standard JPEG compression.
Embedding this compressed ancillary data into a JPEG file offers many practical uses. For example, still images or pictures may be transmitted over the Internet with an accompanying audio file. The audio file can be a person's voice describing the picture. This allows families to share pictures including a family member's voice.
Scanned prints provide a unique type of image and ancillary data. A scanned print contains both an image and non-image side. Typically when prints are scanned, only the image side is scanned and saved as a digital file. However, many times the non-image side contains information that can be valuable to the viewing experience. The non-image side can contain manufacturer marks in the form a watermark that can be used to identify the year(s) the photo was printed. This date information can be meaningful in the creation of multimedia presentations, scrapbooks, photobooks, etc. Older prints may contain consumer marks in the form of handwritten notes, names of people in the photo, the location of the photo, or other relevant facts. Often the photofinisher places a stamp or mark on the non-image side of the print to identify the date the photo was processed and printed.
Today, automatic two-sided feeder copier systems are available. A separate sensor in the system is used to detect the presence of markings on the backside of the paper. If markings are present, it is required that the paper to be flipped and rescanned. This two-step process is time consuming and requires a reversing paper handling mechanism that is unnecessary in a double array scanner. Other systems also provide sensors that look for marks on the backside of the document and will initiate a second pass scan only if needed. However, these types of systems are not useful as post processing is necessary to determine which side of the document is of primary interest to a user.